Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie is on the cover of the August issue of Cosmopolitan and gets personal in an interview with the mag. She explains why she dropped the name Stacy, reveals what being in a group with three men has taught her about guys and says her onetime romance with Justin Timberlake had no future -- "He was Mr. Right Now." Fergie, who battled drug addiction while she was a member of the vocal trio Wild Orchid, credits hypnotherapy with giving her the strength to turn her life around. "It's not some fruity thing," she said. "It's not like you're going to a psychic or something. We just talk. ... And I let it all out." ...

Auditions for the sixth season of "American Idol" will begin August 8 at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Producers will also travel to San Antonio; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Minneapolis before ending September 19 in Seattle. Although this is the show's first time visiting Birmingham, Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard and Bo Bice are all from there. ...

Missy Elliott and Lloyd Banks have joined the lineup of the Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest, set for July 16-22 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Banks will be joining 50 Cent, Sizzla and Lady Saw on the July 21 bill, while Elliott shares the stage with Rihanna, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley and Buju Banton on the July 22 lineup. ...

At this rate, Ozzy Osbourne might just forgo the main stage and headline Ozzfest's second stage all summer. Ozzy will now be playing the smaller stage on nine of this summer's Ozzfest dates, including Sunday's stop in Chicago and the August 6 stop in Bristow, Virginia. If you simply must see Oz larger than life, he's still scheduled for mainstage duty in New York (July 29), Boston (August 1) and Camden, New Jersey (August 4). ...

Maroon 5 are celebrating the release this month of their book "Maroon 5: Midnight Miles" with a book signing July 20 at the Barnes & Noble in Costa Mesa, California. The book is a collection of intimate pictures from the band's worldwide tour in support of Songs About Jane taken by friend and photographer Christopher Wray-McCann. ... Lady Sovereign will release a new single, "Love Me or Hate Me," produced by Dr. Luke (Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone"). The song comes out August 7, while the British rapper's debut album, Public Warning, is due in October. ... Borrowing an idea from CowParade -- a public art exhibit featuring life-size fiberglass cows designed by local artists and scattered throughout cities worldwide -- the Aspen Filmfest has commissioned celebrities including Mariah Carey, Nick Lachey, Salma Hayek and Joaquin Phoenix to make their mark in paint on life-size Labrador Retriever statues, which will be displayed in Aspen, Colorado, and auctioned off August 1 to benefit Aspen Filmfest's youth-education programs. Additional dogs will go up on the block at CharityFolks.com beginning September 4. ...

Linda Perry protégé Sierra Swam is teaming with three California wineries for a summer tour that will combine music and wine tasting. The trek, which also features Mozella, kicks off July 31 in San Diego and wraps up September 3 in Tucson, Arizona. ...

Former Marvelous 3 singer and producer Butch Walker will hit the road to promote his just-released The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's Go Out Tonites album from July 18 in Atlanta to September 14 in Hollywood. Walker just shot a video for his first single, "Bethamphetamine (Pretty Pretty)," which features Avril Lavigne. ... The bio for "Real World: Key West" castmember Paula Ann Meronek says "chaos seems to follow her." Which is what seemingly happened early Sunday morning, when the 25-year-old was arrested after an altercation with her boyfriend in Cromwell, Connecticut. According to the The Middletown Press, Meronek was charged with third-degree assault after she allegedly bit her boyfriend at least five times on the arms and hands when he refused to allow her into their home. Police said the incident was the culmination of an argument that had begun earlier in the evening. Meronek's 24-year-old boyfriend, John Alyward, was charged with disorderly conduct, and she was released on bond and arraigned Monday. She is due back in court August 11. ...

The final lineup for the 36th annual Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival has been revealed, and As I Lay Dying, Blondie, Spoon, the New Pornographers, Steve Miller Band and "You Hear It First" veterans the Like are among the latest additions to the three-day concert event, which hits Seattle over Labor Day weekend (September 2-4). Kanye West, AFI, Lady Sovereign, Yellowcard and the Veronicas are also on the bill. Bumbershoot's comedy lineup includes New York stand-up show "Tinkle," featuring hosts David Cross, Todd Barry and Jon Benjamin, as well as "Best Week Ever Live." ... Michael Jackson's former lawyer Zia Modabber testified Monday that he broke the news to Jackson about producer F. Marc Schaffel's past work as a director of pornographic films, The Associated Press reports. And that led to the delay of Jackson's "What More Can I Give" charity project, the attorney explained. Jackson -- who is being sued by Schaffel -- told Schaffel he was off the "What More Can I Give" charity single project, Modabber told the court. The lawyer explained that he was hired to protect Jackson's ownership of the song so that it could be released. "My focus was on doing what I could to get the rights to release the single," Modabber said. "I got involved with trying to clean up that mess." ...

Sean Lennon will release his second solo album, Friendly Fire, September 26. A short film promoting the album release on Lennon's Web site features cameos from Lindsay Lohan, Jordana Brewster, Devon Aoki, Carrie Fisher, Asia Argento, Bijou Phillips and Harper Simon, with the latter two contributing backing vocals and guitar to the album along with guest players Jon Brion (Kanye West, Fiona Apple) and Cibo Matto's Yuka Honda. Lennon, who produced the album, has shot short films for each of the record's tracks, with the entire Michele Civetta-directed suite of shorts making up a conceptual movie about the failure of love. ... Commodores keyboardist Milan B. Williams died Sunday following a battle with cancer, the AP reports. He was 58. Williams was one of the band's founding members, and wrote the group's early single "Machine Gun." "He was once, twice, three times a brother, and we love him," bandmate Walter Orange said, borrowing a line from the group's hit "Three Times a Lady." "He gave all that he could to the Commodores. He'll always be remembered."

07.10.2006

Don't call Lindsay Lohan beautiful -- the compliment she wants to hear is that she's sexy, she told British GQ for the magazine's August issue. Likening herself to the Vargas girls of the 1940s and the sex kittens of the '50s and '60s, Lohan said she's eager to show off her curves for photo shoots. She's even considering publishing a photo book jokingly titled "Narcissist." "It's my body. And I like my body. And I like my breasts. And no, they're not fake," Lohan told the mag. "I think a woman's body is so much more sensual than a man's. I'm not saying strip off all your clothes, but there are certain photos I like people taking of me, where I'm comfortable. As long as it's tasteful ... why not?" ...

Come December, expect to hear Rihanna singing a new song -- "Just Be Happy," written by Ne-Yo -- as part of Clinique's Happy fragrance ad blitz. Country crooner Julie Roberts is also recording a version of the new track for the campaign. ... Hilary and Haylie Duff keep Kelly Clarkson and JoJo company on (Lip Smackers Presents) Girl Next, Hollywood Records' new compilation-CD series. The first volume -- with the Duffs' "Material Girl," an exclusive acoustic version of Clarkson's "Breakaway" and JoJo's "Baby It's You" -- hits stores August 15. ...

A federal judge ordered a bankruptcy trustee to take over Death Row Records on Friday, saying the label has been grossly mismanaged. According to The Associated Press, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ellen Carroll made the ruling following the label's filing for bankruptcy in April after she found that Death Row's accounting practices were in disarray and troubled boss Marion "Suge" Knight said he hadn't reviewed financial statements in more than 10 years. Knight -- who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the same time as his label -- did not show up for the hearing. ...

Avenged Sevenfold's Ozzfest set was abruptly cut short Saturday by what organizers later described as a citywide brownout in San Bernardino, California. Only a few songs into their set at the Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen, the band's entire performance -- pulsating strobe lights and all -- short-circuited, after which Avenged stood sans instruments at the front of the stage and eventually filed off. After a half-hour delay during which countless water bottles were tossed amid a series of small fires in the general-admission lawn area, the band returned to play its cover of Pantera's "Walk" and their "TRL" hit, "Bat Country." Disturbed and System of a Down's ensuing sets were not cut short. ...

F. Marc Schaffel testified in his civil trial against Michael Jackson Friday and claimed that the singer had dispatched him to adopt boys in Brazil, AP reports. Jackson's attorney denounced Schaffel's testimony as an attempt to smear the singer. Even Schaffel's attorney Howard King said he wasn't expecting his client to make the claim. "It's not really relevant to this case," King said. "I thought we were not going to go there." Schaffel claimed in his filing that Jackson sent him to South America to deliver $300,000. When asked on the stand if the trip was actually Schaffel's own mission to scout actors for his pornographic films, he replied, "The main purpose of my trip was Mr. Jackson wanted to adopt some boys." Jackson denied the claims in a videotaped deposition. Schaffel is seeking $1.6 million from Jackson in the suit, down from the $3.8 million he initially claimed. ...

You Hear It First alumnus Quan held his inaugural Hustler's Ball on Friday night in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The MC performed four songs and welcomed guests such as funnyman Chris Tucker, former Roc-A-Fella recording artist Nicole Wray and singer Trey Songz. The real eye-catchers, though, were Quan's bunnies: eight women clad in bow ties and rabbit ears. Watch out Hugh Hefner! ... Ciara is using her voice to help kids find theirs -- through music. The singer is headlining the fourth annual VH1 Save the Music Hamptons Benefit, set for July 28 at the East Hampton home of Jaci and Morris L. Reid. Ciara, Lyfe Jennings and local musician Niki Jean will perform to support the Save the Music Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring music education programs in U.S. public schools. ...

Interpol want fans to know that they haven't broken up -- in at least a month -- and they're beginning work on a new album, their first since 2004's Antics. In a post on InterpolNYC.com, they acknowledged rumors that they were going to call it quits -- "We did break up -- four times -- but that's behind us now," they wrote -- but insist that they're hard at work on album number three. "We've been at it for six months, in case you heard we were on hiatus," the post reads. "We're all very excited about it and think that you will be too. Having yet to record, we can only say that release will come sometime next year." The post goes on to mention a pair of songs -- "The Heinrich Maneuver" and "Pawn Shop" (which is apparently "called something else now") -- and also includes detailed accounts on their summer plans ("Gettin' some rest ... gettin' some sun") and a shout-out to bassist Carlos D's new dog, an Italian Greyhound named Gaius. "Looks like Carlos," the post reads. Good to know.